A New MAGE Partner: TYE - Fostering Entrepreneurship
TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Academy is a 7-month program that challenges high school students through a STEM project-based learning opportunity where students collaborate with their peers to create a real startup, competing for up to $9k in seed funding. Participants learn directly from startup founders and industry experts and receive guidance from a dedicated mentor to help coach them through the challenges and rewards of creating their own business. Early to mid-level professionals volunteer their time to mentor a team as they build out their business plan and pitch, supporting participants through the growth of their startups and also cultivating mentor/mentee relationships that can help participants grow after the program in high school, college, and beyond.
TYE centers around a rigorous STEM-based business curriculum that covers topics such as ideation, identifying market opportunities, organizational management, and customer validation. It incorporates Disciplined Entrepreneurship (a systematic and rigorous 24-step to build new innovation-based ventures, created at MIT), as well as the Human Skills Matrix and Lean Canvas Model. As a result of their customized curriculum, guest speakers, workshops, and mentors, students have the opportunity to develop the hard skills they will need to be prepared for the workforce and develop the 21st-century skills that will support them in the future. TYE is a high-impact program with many alumni going to pursue careers in research, business, finance, and engineering. The program consists of 12 sessions, held on alternating Saturdays between mid-October and May at Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in Kendall Square. They also offer a one-week summer boot camp in August for rising 7-9th graders. More information is available on their website or by contacting their Assistant Program Director Adam Carter at adam@boston.tie.org.
